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Beshalach: Was Miriam a Prophetess?
It would seem the answer to this question is: Of course she was! The Torah explicitly states in Parashas Beshalach:
Miriam ha’neviah (the prophetess), Aharon's sister, took the tambourine in her hand and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dances. Miriam sang responsively to them: “Sing to Hashem for He has triumphed gloriously; a horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.” (Shemos 15:20-21)
The problem is that even though she is called “Miriam ha’neviah,” we don’t have a clear record of any prophecy she received. By my count, there are four approaches taken by the commentators to address this difficulty.
The first is the midrashic approach taken by Chazal (Megilah 14a and Sotah 13a) cited by Rashi:
Miriam [was a prophetess], as it is written: “Miriam ha’neviah, sister of Aharon” – and not “the sister of Moshe.” Rav Nachman said in the name of Rav: she prophesied when she was the sister of Aharon (i.e. before Moshe was born), saying: “In the future, my mother will give birth to a son who will deliver the Jewish people to salvation.”
R' Avraham ben ha’Rambam takes a similar approach, offering support from different sources:
The esoteric reason [for why the pasuk associates Miriam with Aharon rather than Moshe] is because her level of prophecy was close to that of Aharon but less than that of Moshe. This is indicated by her statement in the pasuk on behalf of both of them: “[They said, ‘Did Hashem only speak with Moshe?] Did He not also speak with us?’” (Parashas Behaalosecha, Bamidbar 12:2). This indicates that she was close to [Aharon’s level] in prophecy. And the statement of Chazal, “she also died with a [Divine] kiss” (Moed Katan 28a, Bava Basra 17a), indicates that her level was as great as Aharon’s, or close to it. Understand this, for it is subtle and wondrous.
A third approach is suggested by the Kli Yakar which is more conservative in its reliance on the context of Beshalach:
She became a prophetess now (i.e. at the time of the splitting of the sea), for at that event even the women were able to see the presence of the shechinah … as Chazal said: “[Even] a maidservant at the sea saw what Yeshaya and Yechezkel didn’t see” (Mechilta Beshalach 3). This is why it stated: “all the women went after her,” since the prophecy began with her, and all the women followed in her footsteps at that event in which all of them merited prophecy.
The fourth approach diverges from the other three. Rashbam holds that the term neviah in Beshalach does not mean “prophetess” but rather “an expert in words of praise or rebuke.” Chizkuni similarly explains that Miriam is called a neviah here not because she received prophecy but because of her “expertise in words of song.” Shadal also maintains that the word neviah here seems to denote “one who is expert in the art of song and music” and supports his claim by citing examples of this usage throughout Tanach. What compels these commentators to deviate from the standard usage of the term neviah? Presumably, the fact that it doesn’t make sense in this context to characterize Miriam as a prophetess, since she is engaged in the act of singing God’s praises – not prophesying!
Yet, even these three commentators would admit that Miriam was a true prophetess. In addition to Miriam’s testimony in Behaalosecha (“Did He not also spoke with us?”), we have an Oral Tradition that Miriam was a prophetess, as Chazal teach: “There were seven prophetesses. Who were they? Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Chanah, Avigayil, Chuldah, and Esther” (Megilah 14a). Indeed, I have not found a single commentator who challenges this claim. Thus, the answer to our question is a resounding and unanimous: yes, Miriam was a prophetess.
Why, then, did I bother raising this question? In order to illustrate an important methodological point: just because the Torah says something which aligns with our premises and prejudices doesn’t mean we shouldn’t question it. This seemingly obvious question led to four different approaches, each of which yielded new insights.
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